Monthly Archive for June, 2007

: June, 2007

The Economist dives into speech recognition in the June 7th issue, writing that the technology — which has offered “more science fiction than function” over the years — is finally starting to make inroads. …

Radiant Research, which conducts clinical trials on behalf of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, has been sold to Mumbai, India, private equity investor ICICI Venture in a deal of undisclosed size. …

Talyst, which last fall raised $20 million in venture capital from Ignition Partners and OVP Venture Partners, has named Greg Weaver as chief financial officer. Weaver has served as CFO of three publicly traded biotech companies: Sirna Therapeutics, Nastech Pharmaceuticals and Ilex Oncology. And anytime I see a fast-growing company adding executives with that much public company experience, there is one thing that pops into mind: IPO. …

One of the big criticisms of discount real estate brokerage services like Redfin is that home sellers who use them may be leaving money on the table because a traditional agent knows the market and intricacies of pricing a home. That was the argument made by Seattle real estate agent Deborah Arends in the controversial “60 Minutes” piece last month. …

Seattle online dating service Perfectmatch.com will be featured heavily in NBC’s new program “Science of Love.” Along with on air appearances from the company’s relationship expert and University of Washington sociology professor Pepper Schwartz, the company’s Duet Total Compatibility System will be used to choose the “scientific date” of the bachelor. …

John L. Scott Real Estate today introduced a new search technology, dubbed The Neighborhood Wizard, that allows consumers to set specific boundaries on a map for their home searches. That means a potential home buyer could outline an area around portions of Lake Washington to see what homes are for sale in Medina or search on a specific street. The new service is based on Microsoft’s polygon drawing technology, with J. Lennox Scott saying that “it is almost like using an Etch-A-Sketch to define your search area.” …

Corn, soybeans, canola and palm oil all are used to produce biofuels. Now, looking to create a more cost-effective product, Seattle-based Imperium Renewables said it is working with South San Francisco-based Solazyme to create biodiesel from algae. Solazyme plans to generate the oil from microalgae, with Imperium converting it into biodiesel at its Seattle plant. In its recent IPO filing, Imperium said that it would continue to explore “new or improved feedstock sources, such as jatropha, mustard and algae, in an effort to leverage our multi-feedstock capabilities and further reduce our production costs.” Imperium has been criticized for saying that it will use imported palm oil, a feedstock that some say leads to the destruction of the rain forest. In a press release, Solazyme Chairman Jerry Fiddler said that using algae to create fuel “is much farther along than most people realize.” …